You said it all! I am one of the active steemians before. I always put my heart into my intended article and let my soul ride inside a virtual time machine and let my mind process it by forming the right thoughts to write so i can convert it in words visible to others.

But i still get nothing but a small reward. Dont get me wrong i was doing everything because of my passion. But what is disappointing is when your reward is diminishing with time.